Improved machine for cutting tobacco



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RITTERHOFF, COLQUITT & MULCHAHEY.

Tobacco Cutter No 47,131. v Patented Agr il 4, 1865.

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RITTERHOFF, COLQUITT &- MULCHAHEY.

' Tobacco Cutter.

No. 47,131. Patented April 4, 1865.

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F. w. RITTERHOFF, c. A. COLQUITT, AND WILLIAM MULOHAHEY, or NEW YORK, N.Y.

IMPROVED MACHINE FOR CUTTING TOBACCO.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 47,131, dated April 4,1865.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, F. WV. RITTERHOFF, (1A. CoLoUIrr, and WVILLIAMMULOHAHEY, of No. 189 Ohatham street, in the city, county, and State ofNew York, have invented a new and Improved Machine for Cutting Tobacco;and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to makeand use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a sectionalplan or top view of our invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of thesame. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

This invention consists in the employment or use of a slotted adjustableeccentric, in combination with the plunger and feed-screw, in such amanner that by increasing or decreasing the throw of the eccentric thefeed can be regulated, and the fineness of the out can be adjusted withthe greatest nicety.

A represents a frame, made of wood or any other suitable material, andprovided with a platform, B, which supports the box 0 and journal-boxesD, that form the bearings for the shaft E.

The cutter or knife F is attached to a flywheel, G, which is mounted onone end of the shaft E, and revolves in close proximity to the throatofthe box. The hub of the flywheel is provided with a slot, a, (see Fig.2,) and said fly-wheel is secured to the shaft by means of a screw andnut, the same being made to pass through the slot in such a man ner thatthe fiy-wheel can be brought in an eccentric position, and by thesemeans a shear out can be given to the knife, which considerablyfacilitates the operation of cutting.

The material to be cut is placed in the box 0, and it is fed toward theknife by means of a follower, H, which is secured to one end of thescrew-rod I. This rod is tapped into a ratchet-wheel, J, which issituated close on the rear end of the box, and confined in such a mannerthat it can rotate freely in either direction, but that it is preventedfrom moving with the screw-rod in a longitudinal direction. By turningthis ratchet-wheel in the direction of the arrow marked on it in Fig. 3of the drawings the follower is moved toward the throat of the box, andthe material to be cut is fed to the knife. The ratchetwheel. is turnedby the action of a pawl, 12, which is pivoted to a lever, K, and thislever is connected at one end to the screw-rod, so that it oscillates onthe same freely in either direction, and its loose end rests on the periphery of a disk, L, which is secured to the end of the shaft E. Thisdisk is slotted so that it can be brought in an eccentric position, andwhen it is adjusted in such a position and the shaft is rotated anoscillating motion is imparted to the lever K, the ratchet-wheel isturned in the direction of the arrow marked on it in Fig. 3 of thedrawings, and the follower feeds the material to be out toward theknife. By adjusting the throw of the eccentric the feed motion can beincreased or decreased at pleasure, and the material in the box can beout fine or coarse, as may be desirable.

It will be readily understood that by the slotted adjustable disk themotion of the lever K, and consequently the feed motion, can be adjustedwith the greatest nicety and without loss of time, and a simple anddurable machine is produced which is particularly valuablefor dealers intobacco. Every small dealer is thereby enabled to cut up his own tobaccoto suit himself, and he is not made dependent upon large dealers who,with the.

present high-priced machines, have monopolized the manufacture of cuttobacco.

We claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- The slottedadjustable disk L, in combination with the lever K, ratchet-wheel J,screwrod I, and follower H, constructed and operating substantially asand for the purpose described.

F. WV. RITTERHOFF. O. A. GOLQUITT. WVM. MULGHAHEY. WVitnesses:

JAMES P. HALL, O. L. TOPLIFF.

